Tag Archives: Hodgson

Hodgson stands firm over star man

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World Cup bettingRoy Hodgson has insisted star striker Fernando Torres is not for sale as he aims to rebuild Liverpool after a poor season last time out (Reds 12/1 to win the title).

Speculation has been rampant over the summer that the Spanish star may move on to pastures new after enduring a disappointing campaign at Anfield.

Liverpool failed to qualify for the Champions League after finishing in a lowly seventh place in the Premier League. They now face a third qualifying round clash against Rabotnicki or Mika to qualify for the Europa League.

Torres himself was plagued with injury but the appointment of Hodgson, who succeeded Rafael Benitez in the Liverpool hotseat two weeks ago, is seen by many as the start of a new era at the Merseyside club.

Hodgson was quick to meet his star players, including Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher, but has only just had the opportunity to meet with Torres after the Spaniard returned home following his World Cup exploits.

The Liverpool boss admitted afterwards that he found the striker a “very pleasant man”.

He went on to say “As far as we are concerned he is a Liverpool player and we want him to remain a Liverpool player. He is not for sale and we don’t welcome any offers for him. We want to keep him.

“We spoke about football, the World Cup, his injury, and I told him how much I am looking forward to working with him.”

Hodgson also confirmed that managing director Christian Purslow was at the meeting with Torres and spoke to him for a far greater length of time than he did.

Meanwhile, Liverpool officials flew to Spain to see Torres in order to assess the extent of the injury he sustained in last Sunday?s World Cup final. A slight tear in an adductor muscle has ruled the player out of action for thenext three weeks.

This means that Torres is unlikely to feature in the Europa League clash between Rabotnicki or Mika, whilst it is doubtful whether he will play many pre-season games before Liverpool’s tough opening match against Arsenal on August 15 (Liverpool 5/4, draw 23/10, Arsenal 7/4).

Hodgson has also had talks with Gerrard, which he believes were positive. He made it clear that Liverpool don?t want to sell their captain and also stated that they have had no offers for him, despite rumours to the contrary.

Meanwhile, the situation regarding Javier Mascherano is a little more complicated as Hodgson has yet to receive a response from his texts and voice messages. However, he believes this is not unusual as Mascherano is probably recovering from a gruelling World Cup back in Argentina.

Hodgson also dismissed rumours linking him with a move for Nice striker Loic Remy. He said; “He’s a player who was mentioned to me by the scouting department and a player the club were following before I came.

“He’s a player I know very little about. If I am going to be interested in a player I am going to have to watch him playing, study him and make judgments which I have not been able to.”

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Hodgson outlines Liverpool plans

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New Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson has targeted signing English players and could make a bid for Aston Villa winger Ashley Young as he looks to revive the Reds’ fortunes next season (Liverpool 8/1 to win the Premier League next season).

Hodgson was officially unveiled as Rafa Benitez’s successor at Anfield on Thursday and the former Fulham boss has already drawn up a shortlist of players he wants to sign over the summer – with a focus on attracting home-born players in line with new UEFA rules that say Premier League clubs must have at least eight ‘homegrown’ players in their squads from August.

“We would be foolish not to be aware of the importance of homegrown players with the way UEFA and Premier League rules are going,” Hodgson said.

“Otherwise we’re going to struggle to get our squad numbers together.

“I think the club have been trying to do that already with younger players like Jonjo Shelvey and Raheem Sterling but it takes time for them to come through so we might have to go into the transfer market.”

Reports suggest Villa winger Young is among the Liverpool manager’s first targets and Hodgson believes he could land the England international for around £6million.

Meanwhile, Hodgson has admitted his style of football was inspired by the great Liverpool teams of the 1970’s and 80’s and he hopes to reproduce it at Anfield with a team of his own as soon as possible.

“All the things I’ve always liked are the things Liverpool were famous for in their heyday,” he added on the club’s website.

“Pass and move, always move it quickly and once you lose it get back in to position. That was the mantra which took Liverpool through their great years.

“I like a high-tempo passing game. I like players to work hard, I like players to get back in position. Those are my priniciples.

“I was influenced by the Liverpool team which dominated the 70s with all its great players and playing the football they played.”

Hodgson’s first competitive game in charge of the Reds will be a Europa League qualifier at the end of the month before they kick off their Premier League campaign with a tough opener at home to Arsenal (Liverpool 5/4 to win).

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Dalglish backs Hodgson

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Liverpool (8/1 to win the Premier League) legend Kenny Dalglish has backed the appointment of Roy Hodgson as the former Fulham boss signs a three-year-deal at the Anfield club.

Hodgson was unveiled as the new manager on Thursday after Rafa Benitez was given a £6m compensation deal to leave the club.

The Spaniard has now moved to Italian giants Inter Milan and now Hodgson has stepped in to the role as he looks to restore Liverpool to their top four status in the Premier League.

Despite applying for the job himself, Dalglish supported the new signing, stating that he was more than happy with the appointment.

He said: “I look very favourably on the appointment.

“I have known Roy a long time and have a great respect for him.

“We’ve not had detailed conversations yet but my interests are in Liverpool,” he added.

Dalglish failed to secure the position as the new manager of Liverpool as Martin Broughton decided it was not in the best interest for the club despite the Scot leading the Merseyside club to their last league title.

Hodgson believes that he and Dalglish will be able to work together at the club despite the former Liverpool boss being looked over for the job.

He said: “I don’t feel at all awkward about the situation.

“Kenny was entitled to suggest to the board that he wanted to be considered. The board made it clear to me that they didn’t want that to happen, as the chairman (Martin Broughton) has outlined.

“As far as I’m concerned, it shouldn’t affect my relationship with Kenny in any way,” he added.

Hodgson’s first task is to try and keep hold of Liverpool’s top players before the start of the Premier League season.

The club won’t be playing Champions League football this campaign after finishing in seventh place in the top flight last season.

There are fears that the likes of Fernando Torres, Javier Mascherano and captain Steven Gerrard could be on their way out of Anfield and Hodgson will be trying his best to secure the services of these players.

Liverpool will take on Arsenal in the pick of the opening day matches at Anfield (Liverpool 5/4, draw 9/4, Arsenal 7/4) before they take on Manchester City at Eastlands.

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Hodgson relishing ‘biggest job’

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Roy Hodgson claims being Liverpool manager ‘is the biggest job in football’ as he looks to bring the glory days back to the Merseysiders (Liverpool 8/1 Premier League 2010-11 Outright) having signed a three-year contract at Anfield.

The 62-year-old has opted to quit Fulham, whom he guided to last season’s Europa League final against the odds, and will take the first day of pre-season training with the Reds on Thursday before being officially unveiled as Rafael Benitez’s successor.

Hodgson’s good work at Fulham last season, where he was manager since December 2007, saw him guide the unfashionable Londoners to wins against top European sides such as Juventus and Wolfsburg and earned him the League Managers Association manager of the year award.

And it appears that his other work with the Cottagers over the past two-and-a-half-years, where he dragged the club from being relegation certainties to a top-seven outfit, has attracted the Liverpool hierarchy to his managerial credentials.

On taking the job, Hodgson, who has vast management experience having coached clubs sides such as Blackburn and Inter Milan, while enjoying fairly successful stints in charge of the Switzerland and Finland national teams, said on the Reds’ website: “This is the biggest job in club football and I’m honoured to be taking on Britain’s most successful football club.”

The confirmation of Hodgson’s appointment ends a summer of speculation about who would replace Inter Milan-bound Benitez, who quit after a disappointing campaign in which Liverpool finished in seventh spot in the Premier League and missed out on the Champions League.

The hard work now starts for Hodgson as he will look to ensure star players like Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard are not tempted to jump ship for pastures new ahead of the Premier League curtain-raiser against Arsenal at Anfield (Liverpool 5/4, Arsenal 7/4, draw 9/4 90 Minutes) on August 14.

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Hodgson cool on Inter rumours

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Fulham’s chances Roy Hodgsonof doing well in the Premier League next season have been boosted by the news boss Roy Hodgson has committed his future to the club.

Hodgson has worked wonders since taking over at Craven Cottage and it came as no surprise when his former club Inter Milan where linked with a swoop following the departure of Jose Mourinho.

‘The Special One’ will take some replacing but it is easy to see why Hodgson’s name has been thrown into the frame after the miracles he has worked in west London.

Hodgson has changed Fulham from a side struggling in the Premier League to one pushing for Europe and last season’s run in the Europa League showed what a remarkable job the former Blackburn boss has done.

The Cottagers may have lost in the final but the fact they got there in the first place was an amazing feat and something Hodgson will be looking to build on.

“Me to Inter? I am surprised,” he revealed. “I don’t know. I have not spoken to anyone. I have not heard from Inter. My name is in the same speculation as Benitez and Capello (as they both have contracts elsewhere, like Hodgson).

“I am under contract with Fulham, and I am happy there. When I hear something then we will see, but I cannot say anything at the moment.”

Speculation has been rife linking the likes of Bobby Zamora with a move away from the club, but the crucial factor for Fulham will be keeping hold of Hodgson.

Players can come and go but as long as Hodgson is at the helm then Fulham are in safe hands and can look to the future. Without him there is a danger they could return to battling for their lives near the foot of the division.

The main worry for Fulham fans is will Hodgson think he has taken the club as far as he can or will he believe they are capable of winning some silverware?

The top seven never mind the top four will take some breaking into next season as Liverpool finished there in the last campaign, while the big guns have started to take the FA Cup seriously again.

That just leaves the Carling Cup and Hodgson, despite his denials may find it impossible to turn down the chance to coach the European Champions again.

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Hodgson prays for Zamora boost

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Roy Hodgson is hopeful Bobby Zamora can shake off an Achilles problem in time for Fulham’s Europa League semi-final second leg against Hamburg (Fulham 6/5, Hamburg 11/5, draw 12/5, 90 Minutes) at Craven Cottage on Thursday.

The Cottagers boss has been keeping a close eye on his 29-year-old 19-goal top scorer after he aggravated the Achilles during last wek’s 0-0 first leg draw in Germany.

Zamora missed Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at Everton, but is now waiting to see if he will be fit enough to face Hamburg in Thursday’s crunch second leg which could see Fulham progress to their first ever European final (Fulham 5/6 To Qualify) and a real chance of silverware (Fulham 3/1 Europa League Outright).

“Bobby is much improved and has done some work today with the physios, but we chose for him not to take part in the light training session we had,” said Hodgson.

“We just have to wait until tomorrow to have a 100% decision on whether or not he can play.

“Obviously we are concerned about the situation, because if he was fully fit, he would have been training for the last couple of days.”

Hodgson added: “When Bobby plays we know what we are doing, and when he does not play, we have people who come in and know what we are doing, so we can leave it late in that respect.

“He will have treatment again tomorrow, then go in front of our medical people, and I think by lunchtime I should know whether or not he has a chance of playing.

“It will be about their assessment, Bobby’s own assessment, how he feels, how he thinks it will go – because knowing him as well as I do, he will not want to let the team down.

“He wants to play, but he wants to play as a fit player rather than play and in any way hamper our chances of doing well.”

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Hodgson delighted with draw

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Fulham manager Roy Hodgson says he was very happy to come away from the first leg of their Europa League semi-final against Hamburg (9/5 to win the 90 minute betting) with a goalless draw heading into next week’s return match.

The Cottagers had to show some stubborn resistance to come away with the draw as the German outfit dominated possession for long periods of the game and had Hodgson’s men penned in their own half for much of the match.

Goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer produced four fine saves to keep his side in it and the west London outfit could have even snatched an unlikely win with Zoltan Gera seeing his shot narrowly deflected wide in the first half.

Fulham (3/1 to win the Europa League) will now fancy their chances of making it through to the final having never lost a European match at Craven Cottage.

Despite keeping a Ruud van Nistelrooy lead Hamburg at bay Hodgson was keen to play down talk of his side having a sizeable advantage over the Bundesliga side, insisting the game could easily go either way.

“There is a lot of football to be played and Hamburg are a very good team. If they score a goal next week the advantage passes to them,” said Hodgson.

“The tie is open but I am delighted about that because it is very easy to put yourself out of contention.”

While Fulham will be able to enjoy their private jet back to England after a 600-mile coach trip to get to Hamburg they will have one worry on their mind after top scorer Bobby Zamora was forced off in the second half with an Achilles injury.

The 29-year-old has been struggling with the problem for a number of weeks now and needed treatment before the start of the game in order to get him match fit.

However, Zamora only lasted 52 minutes before he had to leave the field and he now faces a race against time to be fit to face Hamburg when they head to the United Kingdom next week.

Hodgson confirmed that it was unlikely Zamora would feature in Sunday’s match against Everton (2/5 to beat Fulham on the Premier League coupon) as Fulham prepare to rest a number of key players with one eye on next Thursday’s match.

The likes of Gera, Danny Murphy and Simon Davies could also find themselves either on the bench or left at home.

However, having picked up a point the last time they visited Merseyside to face Liverpool Hodgson’s side might fancy their chances of getting another positive result, even with a scratch side.

Everton will desperate to take all three points from the game with seventh spot in the league having been confirmed as a way into the Europa League this week and with the Toffees five points behind local rivals Liverpool in the league.

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